Press release 21.12.2018

Press release 21.12.2018
For immediate release

Exclusive artist talk with Roland Schimmelpfennig at Viirus 12.1.2019

German playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig visits Helsinki in January 2019. Teater Viirus and Helsinki Theatre Academy will host an artist talk with Mr. Schimmelpfennig and professor of dramatic art Anders Carlsson on Saturday 12.1.2019 at Viirus’ theatre venue. The event is English-speaking and open for the public. It coincides with Viirus’ season opening of Roland Schimmelpfennig’s modern fabel Den Stora Elden (The Great Fire), directed by Anders Carlsson. Den Stora Elden originally opened at Viirus on 14.9.2018 and has been praised for its groundbreaking adaptation and set design, impressive ensemble performance and bold take on impending climate issues.

Roland Schimmelpfennig

Roland Schimmelpfennig is one of the most performed contemporary playwrights of our time. He has written some fifty plays, which have been translated into forty different languages. As a dramatist he has won numerous awards, but Schimmelpfennig is also active as a novelist, director and visual artist.

Schimmelpfennig challenges the theatre into seeking non-traditional expressions, without taking a post-dramatic stance. On the contrary, he defends drama as a literary charter and outset for the theatrical process. Schimmelpfennig’s works are not inhabited by grandiose characters, but rather humans, whose identities, actions and destinies are determined by circumstances beyond their own individual control. Furthermore, his plays often seem to switch between global and intimate perspectives. Through percipient interpretation of our zeitgeist and its discourse, Schimmelpfennig’s writing takes on complex political, ethical and existential challenges both on micro and macro levels.

During the artist talk Anders Carlsson and Roland Schimmelpfennig will discuss the latter’s view on theatre and its role, the collective meeting between the theatre and its audience, the writer’s relationship with the actors, and his thoughts on subjectivity.

Artist talk 12.1.2019 @ Viirus

On Saturday 12.1 Viirus’ doors open at 3:30 pm. The artist talk starts at 4 pm and finishes by 6 pm. Den Stora Elden starts at 7 pm (duration 90 minutes). Viirus’ bar offers refreshments and snacks at Happy Hour prices in the break between the talk and the performance. Restaurant Skøgul next to the theatre lobby is open between 3 and 10 pm.

Admission to the artist talk and performance Den Stora Elden is 12 €/person (normal price 30 €). Free entry to the artist talk for visitors not attending the performance, but please note that all attendees should pre-register by Thursday 10.1 through the online registration form.

More information and inquiries from 7.1.2019:
Viirus, 09-440 224